Sonny's BBQ Resumes Holiday Feasts for Thanksgiving and Christmas

Sonny's BBQ has opened ordering for its 2026 Holiday Feasts, with four family-style packages sized for groups of 10 to 20 people available now through December 31. The program covers Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, office gatherings and other celebrations, and each feast ships with barbecue sauce, plates and silverware included.

The chain is betting on off-premise volume during a window when its dining rooms go dark. Sonny's BBQ will close on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, and Christmas Day, December 25, which makes pre-ordered pickup the only way the brand captures those occasions. Orders require at least 24 hours' advance notice, and the company is urging customers to schedule pickup ahead of the holidays rather than at the last minute.

What is on the Holiday Feast menu?

The program leans on the chain's core competency — slow-smoked proteins — rather than inventing seasonal items. Four options anchor the menu:

• Smoked Turkey Breast Meal — includes cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, a choice of three sides, and homemade cornbread or French bread. Serves 10.
• Whole Spiral-Cut Ham — includes a choice of three sides and homemade cornbread or French bread. Serves 10.
• Whole Smoked Pork Butt — includes a choice of three sides and homemade cornbread or French bread. Serves 10. Hot pickup only.
• Whole Smoked Brisket — includes a choice of three sides and homemade cornbread or French bread. Serves 20. Hot pickup only.

The pickup-only restriction on the pork butt and brisket matters operationally. Whole smoked muscles lose quality in transit, so the chain is holding those two items to immediate handoff rather than risking product complaints on reheated brisket.

How does the catering build work?

Each feast carries a fixed protein plus a three-side selection, which gives the operator a predictable cost structure while letting guests feel they are customizing. The six side options are Sweet Potato Casserole, Skillet Potatoes, Macaroni & Cheese, Homemade Coleslaw, BBQ Beans and Southern Green Beans. Sides are also sold à la carte, which opens a smaller-ticket entry point for households that already have a turkey handled.

Dessert functions as the attach play. Customers can add Homestyle Banana Pudding or Fruit Cobbler, the classic high-margin finish to a catering order where the incremental sale requires no extra delivery or packaging logic.

Pricing varies by location, a common structure for multi-unit barbecue brands where protein costs and local wage levels differ across markets. Sonny's BBQ has not published a national price point for the feasts.

What should customers plan around?

The deadline structure is straightforward. Orders run through December 31, the restaurants close on November 26 and December 25, and every order needs a minimum 24-hour lead time — meaning the practical cutoff for a Christmas Eve gathering falls on December 23 at the latest for a same-day pickup. Full details and ordering are available at sonnysbbq.com.

Whether the feasts move the chain's fourth-quarter numbers will depend on attach rates on sides and desserts, since the proteins themselves are low-margin, labor-intensive smokers' work. Holiday catering has become a reliable December revenue bridge for casual chains, and Sonny's is positioning to claim its share of that spend for another season.